


Starbrooks

by levicopter



Series: Starbrooks [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-04
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-01-03 11:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1070231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levicopter/pseuds/levicopter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best friends, Nanaba and Zoe, enjoy their time after work in a Café called Starbrooks, in which both of them notice two quite annoying, yet interesting men who they find nice to talk to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Banana

**Author's Note:**

> Based on that one fanart on Tumblr I did in December  
> Zoe♀ & Nanaba♀  
> Everyone's in their thirties.  
> Mainly Levihan

It was a day like no other.

A rainy day. It’s been raining for some weeks now, so people stopped complaining. Most people. But some people kept on complaining and moaning about it. Some of these people were moody and stayed at home all day but there were some exceptions.

“The rain won’t stop, huh?”

Nanaba looked at her brunette friend, who was, as usual, photographing her cake and cup of coffee. “I really hope it’ll stop soon. I already forgot how nice sunny days feel.” Nanaba sighed.    
“I’m sure it’ll stop raining soon! And then we’re going to get sick of all the sun we’ll be getting!” said the brunette and giggled.

All of the sudden, the two women heard a deep,  voice saying:

“One tall caramel macchiato for Banana~!”

Nanaba knew exactly that the cashier means her. Since her friend ordered a cup for “her and her bestie ‘Banana’” he’s always written that on every single cup she ordered. Even if she told him her actual name. “Zoe _,_ shut up. It’s not funny!” The blonde woman tried to calm her friend down. She stood up and got to the counter to pick up her cup.

“The name is _still_ ‘Nanaba’.”

The Cashier grinned and handed her the cup over. “Watch out it’s hot, Banana.”

“I mean it, don’t call me ‘Banana’! My name is Nanaba and it’s terribly embarrassing for me if you call me ‘Banana’.”  
“I don’t understand your problem, miss, I _like_ bananas. So it’s sort of a complement, actually.” Nanaba’s cheeks turned red. The bearded man cleaned his working place and was still grinning.  She shook her head and still insisted to call her her real name, and not a “ _silly nickname.”._

In the meantime, While Nanaba argued with the cashier about how he should call her, some very moody man sat across Zoe at another table. He had a simple cup of coffee. _How boring_ Zoe thought. She ignored him and made more photos for her _Permagram._ These will get her popular. She knew it. While doing the photos, she didn’t notice that she makes the most various expressions which go from a serious frown to a wide sudden grin – or even sticking out her tongue while trying to find the perfect angle. When she looked up to the man, she saw he was looking at her with a frown. He shook his head and continued working on his notebook.

A short moment later, Nanaba came back, she sighed and sat next to Zoe again, who just looked at her friend and grinned.

“How’s it going, Bananaaaaa~”

“Quit it, Zoe, it’s not funny! Strangers start to call me ‘Banana’ just because of you!” 

Zoe laughed and sipped her drink. Nanaba warmed her hands on the warm cup of her drink and looked out of the window. It was quite cold, as it’s expected on an November’s day.  Zoe was keep teasing Nanaba, who just wanted to enjoy her coffee and forget about her, as she said, _dumb_ nickname.

 

An hour later, both of the women left the Café _Starbrooks_ , on the way out, Nanaba heard the cashier saying “See you two, Susanne and Banana!” except the fact that he, like many others, didn’t get Zoe’s name right, he kept calling her ‘Banana’ like she was some fruit.

On the way home, Zoe told her shorthaired friend about the moody guy who shook his head on her, she found it ridiculous that he didn’t mind his own business. Nanaba just listened and nodded. She knew how people always looked at Zoe for her behaviour. Was it photographing her drink and meal, or suddenly singing out loud in public, or just talking very loudly in general wherever she was.  So it was no surprise to her that once again someone looked at her and shook his head.

“Thanks for walking this way just to bring me home.” Nanaba said as she looked for her keys in her bag.

“Don’t mention it, I just had to tell you about that dude! So it was worth walking with you the way!” Zoe laughed and patted her friend on the shoulder. “I just hope my two boys don’t miss their mommy! I should be home already, and they get nervous whenever I’m a minute late!”

“I’m sure they don’t got it from you.” The blonde chuckled and opened her door. “See you tomorrow, Zoe. Take care on the way home.” Zoe waved and grinned at her friend as she went inside.

 

***

 

“Well if you ask me, I think he likes you!”

 Zoe laughed into her phone. While walking her two dogs, a small Pomeranian and a big Mastiff, in the evening, it was kind of a routine to call Nanaba and talk to  her about the most random things. “Why not? The way he looks at you says it... Well, I know his hair is hiding his sight but if you look good enough you can spot his eyes!” she fixed her phone, letting the leash on her smaller dog loose, which caused him to run off.

“Sawney!! Oh God, Nanaba, I’m going to call you later, Sawney ran away again and I have  to look for him. Yea, I’ll be careful. Thanks – bye!” As soon as she hung up, she went to look for her little friend. It would be easier for her to search if her bigger dog ran off, she could’ve spot him quickly, but her little Sawney was not only tiny but also very fast. And, if it  couldn’t get worse, it was already dark.

“Sawney!” she yelled. “Sawney , come to Mama!”

“God, Bean, why can’t Sawney be like you. Every single time he gets loose, he runs away somewhere...” She petted her bigger dog, and let him loose as well “Go, look for Sawney! Come on!” As the command was given, the bigger dog also disappeared in the bushes. Zoe was thinking if it really was a good idea to let her second dog loose as well.

Then, there it was. A loud barking. A high and deep sounding one. Zoe immediately recognized these sounds. She followed the sound, wondering why they were barking.

There they were, barking on someone who was  sitting on the bench. Bean looked more as if he barked out of fear, Sawney on the other hand, out of anger. As usual. His hatred for strangers wasn’t something new for Zoe.

“God fucking damn it.” The hooded person on the bench hissed. Zoe walked up to him and her dogs, getting both of them on the leash and glancing down to the person, who looked annoyed at her. Her eyes widened as she saw his face. She wouldn’t think she would see this guy again.

The guy who shook his head on her in Starbrooks.

“The _fuck_ you have your glasses for if you can’t even  _look_ out for your _damn_ dogs?!” the man said. He was certainly not a dog person, that’s what Zoe could tell. He stood up and looked at her face.

“...Wait. You’re the hipster weirdo from Starbrooks.” He examined her face. She looked down at him and wondered what was he looking at so interested.  
“You do still have a dumb expression even without doing silly faces.” He said while taking a cigarette out and smoked it. He didn’t seem to care about whether he is rude or not to people.

“Whoa there, you could be nicer, Shorty!” the moment the word ‘Shorty’ left her lips, he glared at her like no one has ever glared before. And she told herself, if _glares_ could kill, she would be dead right now.  “And I’m not some ‘hipster weirdo’! I was just casually photographing _my_ stuff which shouldn’t bother _you_ at all.”

“Mh-mhm. I don’t care what you were doing. The faces you made were ridiculous, four-eyes.”  The man put his hands into his pockets and started walking away.

Zoe didn’t even tried to stop him, she was speechless. There weren’t that much things she hated, but people like _him_ were definitely not on a likeable list to her.  Once he got out of sight, Sawney and Bean finally stopped barking.

“Geez, what an idiot.” She murmured and walked home.  As soon as she got home, she called Nanaba once again. She simply had to tell her about the _rude_ , _short_ , Mister. 


	2. Permagram

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long!!! I lost motivation and forgot about it I'm so sorry!! Ahhhh! But here it is and I hope I can mantain writing this (and the others haha)  
> Enjoy!

 On the next day, the rain still hasn’t stopped. The only time it stops is when the sun goes down. It’s like a curse. To some.

But some others don’t seem to care much.

An umbrella carrying Nanaba picked her friend up from her work. Zoe worked as a veterinarian, so it was always quite loud. That’s probably why Zoe always spoke so loudly. Nanaba preferred working with people, where it was calm and quiet, so she was an old people’s nurse. She liked to help people. Zoe on the other hand liked to help animals, and tried her best at it, going as far as sometimes taking animals home, so they have a better life.

“Nana, people can be so cruel to their animals, it’s terrible!”

Zoe always complained after work. She hated people who treat their animals badly. She saw hurt animals every day. Hurt by their owners, how she would say, _stupidity_. Nanaba nodded.

Both women, talking about animal abuse and older people, were heading to Starbrooks, like usual. It was their main place to go to after a work. They enjoyed a relieving evening, focusing only on coffee and each other.

Once they walked into the building, they could hear a cheerful “Banana, Sally! Welcome back.” From the barista. They knew who it was, and Zoe had a hard time trying not to burst into loud laughter.

“Well, hello there! Mr ...?” Zoe walked up to him to buy some drinks and chit chat while Nanaba already looked for a place to sit.

“Just call me Mike.” The employee answered. “But I’m having troubles remembering your name. Was it something with a S...Z...? I just don’t know, Is it maybe Sally, after all?.”

The brunette chuckled. “It’s okay, for some reason people tend to forget my name, so I mainly go by my last name, ‘Hange’.” She said and ordered the drinks for her and her friend. “By the way, I’ve noticed you call my friend ‘Banana’, may I ask why? Not that I have something against it, it’s hilarious! But I’m wondering.”

“Oh, I actually call her like that to tease her. I hope she isn’t mad because of it.” The barista mixed the drinks together and continued to talk “She... does this nose thing when you call her Banana and she get all annoyed and embarrassed, and I think it’s rather cute. “ the corners of his lips raised for a second while he said that. Right after he looked at Zoe and gave her the drinks she ordered. ‘Banana’ and ‘Hange’ were written on it. Not to Zoe’s surprise. She paid and thanked the dark blond man and returned to her friend.

“Nanaba! Look! He wrote my last name this time instead of some weird S-name!”

“And I’m a fruit once again...” The short haired woman sighed.

“N’aw, Nana, just so you know, he does it because he thinks you’re cute!” Zoe said as she was preparing her cup for another photo. “By the way, his name’s Mike.” She grinned.

Nanaba didn’t say a thing. She felt her cheeks getting warm. She denied to herself that she’s blushing.

 _It’s from the coffee._ she thought

“ ‘ _Barista got my name right. Hashtag ‘finally’, hashtag... ‘I probably gained a new friend’ ’_.” Zoe murmured and chuckled. Nanaba just smiled. Her friend could sure not live without posting things on Permagram. While drinking her coffee, her friend bumped her and whispered “Look! That short Mister is here again!” she pointed at the black haired man. Nanaba looked at him, and she couldn’t deny not knowing him. She has seen this man today already. _Today_.

“Um... Zoe, I know this man.” She sipped her coffee.

“What!? You do?? And you didn’t tell me?” Zoe said, glancing at her friend and the short man. “Why do _you_ know him?”

“He was at the retirement home today, visiting his friend’s friend. His name is Levi, if you wonder.” She took another sip.

“Levi?” the brunette asked “What kind of a stupid name is _that_?” she fixed her glasses and began to drink her coffee. Apparently, she couldn’t tune down once again, therefore the man called Levi heard her and looked over to them with a frown. She looked back at him, making a silly face and looking right away.

“Zoe, you behave like a child.” Her blonde friend said and sipped her drink. While doing so, she noticed a number on her cup. A phone number.

“I don’t believe it.”

Once Zoe noticed it, she laughed out loud. “He did it!! Haha! I told you he thinks you’re cute!”

Nanaba glanced into Mike’s direction. Only to notice that he was looking at her as well. She had to admit, he wasn’t that bad looking, though she couldn’t really find liking in his moustache. She did like how his face looked like over all though. Especially when he smiled, what made her look away immediately and blush.

Her glass wearing friend just had to make a picture of her blushing and posted that on Permagram.

“ ‘Bestie blushing because of a guy. Hashtag ‘Bananafever’...”

One she posted it, she was checking her phone with a frown. Someone has commented on her post with _‘Silly woman has nothing better to do than posting a pic of her poor friend’_ with the hashtag _‘four eyed weirdo’ ._ There was only one person who called her recently ‘weirdo’. She turned her head to find out _that small dude_ was playing with his phone, smirking. She immediately checked that ‘four eyed weirdo’ tag, only to find lots of pictures of her, made from his perspective. There was also one from last evening, when her dogs got loose. ‘Silly woman can’t keep her dogs close’ was the caption.

“Oh my God!” Zoe fixed her glasses, stood up and walked to the black haired man. Nanaba checked the brunette’s phone and chuckled.

“You’re posting photos of ME on your Permagram!?” Zoe asked him as she sat down in front of him.

“Don’t scream. Yes I do. People who follow me tend to love pictures featuring a slightly less intelligent woman.” He said, after which he sipped his coffee. “They don’t even see your face so don’t worry.”

“Worry?” She began “I can’t believe you didn’t tag ME!” she laughed and saw the confusion in his eyes.

“You seem like you are documenting my life and that’s hilarious! Especially since such a bore like you does it.”

“I’m not boring—“

“Let me follow you!”

The both of them continued talking, since Zoe started to find the short man quite interesting, compared to what she first assumed of him. Surprising to her, he didn’t sound that annoyed talking to her, either.

***

“Yes, I did talk to him a bit. I tried to get him to call me ‘Nanaba’ instead of ‘Banana’ but he claimed I do something with my nose when I get called like that? Do I?... Zoe? ”

“Ah! I’m sorry, Nana! I’ve been writing a bit with Levi! We exchanged numbers and I’m spamming him with little poo-faces right now!” The brunette laughed and sent her message after which she put her phone away. “You are indeed doing a little nose thing whenever someone calls you Banana, and I think it’s adorable, and apparently others like it as well! Are you going to message him?”

“I don’t know... Maybe, maybe not. We will see.”

“Oh my, Nana! If you don’t know what to write, just tell him you like the way he mixes coffee and you’ll be good!”

“I will consider this, thank you.” Both women laughed and walked home. Zoe was still busy with her phone, but also talking to Nanaba about Mike, and also Levi.

Once Zoe got home, she could see from her window how Nanaba pulled her phone out and seemed to write. At the same time, Zoe’s phone vibrated.

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Levi  
To: Hange**

Hey, Shitty glasses, check out my newest selfie and tell me how it is.  
\----------------------------------------- 

While checking her phone and Permagram, she was filling her dogs’ food bowls, which ended up being nothing but one big mess, as she started to laugh. Her dogs were barking and eating their food from the floor as Zoe tried to calm down and text him back.

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Hange  
To: Levi**

DID U JUST SELFIE URSELF ON UR TOILET  
\----------------------------------------- 

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Levi  
To: Hange**

So, how is it?  
\-----------------------------------------   
  
  


 


	3. Poo-face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is way more centered about Levihan, and has lotsa dialouges... and also I'm changing a little but how I wanted the story to go on uvo"" We will see how that turns out♪. I do have a lot of ideas so that's good!   
> Thank you for the kudos, bookmarks and lovely comments!♥ 
> 
> Have fun reading! (*´▽｀*)

 

Some weeks went by, the rain didn't stop yet. It was still rainy. At least other things changed: After endless spam of horrible selfies and poop emojis, Zoe completely and successfully befriended the dark haired man, and Nanaba even decided to go out and meet Mike somewhere, much to Zoe's surprise. Both of the women were phoning, one on her way to work and the other being already in hers.

“So, you're like dating now? … Ah, come on! I am sure you are!” The brunette laughed as she played with the cable of her phone. Her blonde friend didn't want to tell her too much. She was rather secretive about this stuff.

Having her feet on the desk, Zoe continued trying to get information out of Nanaba. She wore slippers at work as they were much more comfortable. Her colleagues thought it's ridiculous especially since her office wasn't the cleanest. There was everything laying around, from hair to some papers. She rarely opened the window so the air was very thick. Not to mention the smell of dog food.

Her desk wasn't much cleaner. There were documents all over the desk, covering the most of it. It wasn't a pleasant view. But Zoe didn't really care. She was happy with it because she could find everything.

“Dr. Hange.” someone knocked on the door. “There's a patient who needs you.”

It was no one else than Moblit. Zoe's assistant and friend. And probably the only person at work who didn't think of her as of a weird person.

“I'm coming! I'll be there right away!” Once this was said, she heard how her assistant has gone away.

“Okay, Nana, I need to go now. Some poor animal is waiting for me! And it's owner of course!... Yes, talk to you later~! Take care, byesies!” Once she hung up, she stood up and streched, walking out of her office humming Alcazar's 'This is the world we live in'. On her way to her patient's room, she greeted everyone warmly. The moment she opened the room, she yelled with joy. It was Levi and he bought his cat.

“Levi!! Hello there!” She greeted him and crawled the cat on it's neck. “How are we doing?” Zoe looked at Levi and his black Maine Coon.

“I'm great. But he just... I don't know what's wrong with him.” The short man didn't look away from her, keeping his eyes fixated on hers.

“Well... There's got to be a reason why you brought him here. Did something happen?”

“He farted.”

“Cats fart, Cleanso.”

“Can't you just check him to see if everything's alright? I have to go in a bit.” Levi grunted.

The tall woman chuckled as she check the cat. Everything seemed alright with it. It was pretty much healthy, and the fact that it let out some body gases which lead to Levi bringing his cat here, also seemed pretty weird. She looked up to tell the man that his cat is all right and healthy, just to see him staring with a frown at her all this time. She caught his gaze with her eyes and grinned silly at him.

“What is it?” She asked.

He shook his head lightly and mumbled a 'nothing'. Zoe could notice his cheeks changing into a light shade of red.

“You... have interesting hair.” He finally said

“Oh? Do I?” the brunette petted the cat and grinned playfully at Levi.

“Yea... it reminds me of...” he hesitated.

“Of?”

“Poop.”

Zoe tried to figure out how to answer, she didn't know if that was an insult or a compliment. The way he said it made it sound like a compliment, but his expression was still quite cold. “Well, I... uuh...”

“I like that.”

The two of them looked each other in the eye with a dead serious expression, which changed into a burst of loud laughter from both sides. They always joked about 'poop' and everything that has to do with it.

“Th-thanks, I suppose!” Zoe tried to speak through her laughter.

Once the two of them calmed down, Levi took a quick look at his watch and frowned. “Ah, fuck me. I have to go.” He took his cat on his arms and looked at her. She was smiling at him. “Well, I'll be going then, text you later, I guess.”

“See you, Le~vi!” Zoe giggled as Levi walked out of the room with his cat in his arms.

***

The short man drove home from the veterinary to leave his cat there. While driving, he was listening to the raindrops on his car and the radio, listening to newer songs, which he practically hated. He sang along, but he would never admit it. Song like “Happy” or “Lucky” were songs he could consider nice music. He was someone who preferred pure music classics.

After a 20 minute drive, he arrived at the retirement home, seeing as his old friend was already waiting there for him inside.

Levi quickly got out of his car, taking quick steps to go inside and not get too wet from the rain, as he, as usual, didn't have an umbrella.

“Hello, Levi. Nice that you came.”

“Yea, hey Erwin. Can we just get it on with? I've got stuff to do.”

His tall friend let out a laughter, moving forward into the main room with all elders. Levi hated it. He always claimed it smells like death in there, which he was supposed not to say out loud.

Once they entered the room, the atmosphere was one Levi finds no liking in. Coughing, the smell of strong soap, obnoxious laughter... it wasn't really his thing. But he promised Erwin to come with him to visit his friend. And whenever Erwin couldn't come, he wanted Levi to.

“Erwin! Levi!” an old man with a moustache yelled. He waved at them to come to him, which they did, and greeted them.

“Hello, Dot.” Erwin said, formal as always.

“Hey, old man.” Levi said, sat down and took his phone out.

The three men, or mainly two since Levi was busy staring at his phone, talked about all the different things. From how their day was, to how nice some nurses there are. The black haired man nodded from time to time, locking and unlocking his phone all the time, until he got a text. It was obviously from Zoe.

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Hange  
To: Levi**

care of sending me a picture of ur face?   
\-----------------------------------------

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Levi  
To: Hange**

Why the hell would you want that.  
\-----------------------------------------

he wrote back, frowning.

Her texts always contained the little poo-face emoji and shortenings. He liked how simple she, a veterinarian, wrote. He would always expect people like her to be super careful with their grammar. And stern.

His phone vibrated once again.

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Hange  
To: Levi**

i like ur face. thats why  
\-----------------------------------------

His cheeks turned red. He would never ever send her a picture which held his embarrassing blush forever. He tried not to smile out of his embarrassment and texted back asking once again _'why'_. He noticed how both, Erwin and Dot, looked at him and smiled.

“Is there something you want to tell us, Levi?” Dot started. “Is there a little bella?”

“'Little' isn't what I would describe it.” Levi murmured, after which he just shook his head. “I was just thinking about something.”

“Must've made you really flustered. I can't remember the last time I saw you flustered like that. Except with your–”

“I am not flustered, Pixis.” Levi hissed, cutting him of.

Erwin, who immediately realised that Levi doesn't want to talk about these thing,0s, at all. _No wonder_ thought Erwin, starting a new topic with Dot, freeing Levi from more questions. He was quite grateful because of that.

When he took a look at his phone, he noticed that Zoe replyed.

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Hange  
To: Levi**

i like ur face because it reminds me of me when im constipated!   
\-----------------------------------------

“That damn woman...” he muttered, forcing to hide his smile.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little additional drabble:  
> Nanaba's and Mike's meeting: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1539869


	4. Bark mode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi visites Hanji and decides to do her a favour while she's out of the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a bit longer than the others as we're getting there slowly uvo ♪  
> enjoy uvu

“I hate your dogs.”

“I know, I know. You always say that. But look! They _love_ you!”

It was the first time Levi visited Zoe. It was a little bit difficult to let him in since both Sawney and Bean were barking and jumping at the door (and later on, on Levi), and since Zoe didn't seem to bother to bring out the trash which was behind the door, blocking it to work normally.

After commenting on her dogs, Levi looked around. He couldn't really believe what he saw. Every single room was dirty. There were either empty boxes and packages, dog food all over the kitchen and hair. He knew how it is to live with an animal, and he kept his house clean. There was always a little bit of hair. That was normal. But the amount of hair that lied around in her house was simply astounding.

“You fucking woman...” he mumbled.

“Ah, yes, sorry it's a little bit unclean.” Zoe laughed, slamming her door close and sending her dogs in another room, away from her and Levi.

“I'm impressed there's no piss and shit laying around to be honest. Do you have any cleaning products?” He asked, pulling his sleeves up.

The brunette scratched her head, which made Levi just look in disgust that she couldn't tell right away but had to think about it.

“You invited me for dinner, I won't eat anything in this stinky home, so I'll do you a favour and clean your god-damn rooms while you cook.” he walked into the kitchen, cautious, opened a shelf beneath the sink and lucky for him, the cleaning products were there. There weren't a lot, but she had gloves, which he took on immediately after which he took the bucket that was also there and filled it with hot water and a nice smelling cleaning solution. Zoe just watched him in the door frame, wondering if he is really about to clean her house. He just gave her a glare and began to speak.

“How about you buy something to eat in the meantime? You can take your time. When you're back, the kitchen will be done and you'll be able to start cooking. Okay?” Zoe just nodded and giggled, taking her bag and saying good bye to her dogs.

“Anything specific you like? Or dislike?” she looked back at Levi who has started cleaning already.

“I prefer no meat but I'm fine with anything that isn't pork.”

“Pork? Are you religious?”

“You don't have to be religious to know how disgusting pork tastes, shitty glasses.”

Zoe just laughed at that statement and left the house.

***

Zoe was keep sending Levi photos, asking if this and that is okay. He was fed up and decided to tell her to surprise him to which she just replayed with her infamous poop face emojis.

One and a half hours passed since she was gone. Levi didn't really mind her literally taking her time with shopping. After all, he almost finished cleaning the whole house, only her bedroom left. The bedroom where he put the dogs in so they wouldn't disturb him. He took a deep breath and opened the bedroom door. Sawney, the small Pomeranian, growled at him, while Bean, the big Mastiff, just lied around and wiggled his tail. Levi didn't like dogs at all but he tried to be as nice to them as he could possibly be.

“Come on, you two. You stick just much as your owner. You need a bath.” As soon as the word 'bath' fell, Sawney stopped growling and ran excited towards Levi and jumped, while Bean hid under the bed.

“Great...” he muttered and went to the bed. “Come on, it won't even hurt.” The dog still didn't come out. Levi decided to look for him. He overcame his disgust and got on the floor to look under the bed for Bean. Just as quick as he glanced under the bed, he stood up and shook his head.

“Her... clothes. Underwear. It's under the bed... I can't believe that stinky glasses.” He put his phone out, texting to her.

“ _Woman, you have a lot of shit under your bed.”_

He waited for her immediate response, which didn't come. He thought that she was on her way home and didn't notice her phone.

Not bearing how the little dog jumped any more, he decided he will wash them separately. He went into the clean bath, Sawney following him and jumping right into the bathtub. Levi took of his cleaning gloves and fixed his sleeves to be sure they won't slip and get wet.

“Why can't your owner be like that as well, huh?”

The black haired man took the shower head and gently wet the dog, after which he took the shampoo and rubbed it carefully into the soft fur. The more foamy Sawney was, the softer he appeared to be. The only thing that annoyed Levi was, how much dog shampoo stank. It was supposed to clean the dog and yet it stank terribly.

Once he washed the foam away, he dried Sawney roughly with a towel and let him go, just not into the bedroom since he didn't want him to get dirty again. Then, he got back into the bedroom and looked over to the bed, only seeing a wiggling tail from beneath it. He wasn't sure if there's a trick to get him out or if he had to do it his way, so he asked the one and only owner, Zoe.

“Hange, how do I get your stupid big dog from under the bed.”

Yet, still no reply. Not even from the previous text message. The short man got slightly concerned about that, but didn't give it much thought.

“I have absolutely no idea how that four-eyed woman gets you out of there, but I know I will do it differently, even if I might regret it.”

With it, he pushed the bed to the side, revealing all of Zoe's clothing, moulded food and Bean. Before he could escape, Levi caught him by the collar and dragged him into the bathroom. Putting that massive dog into the bathtub was sure difficult but Levi managed it and started cleaning the dog careful.

  
  


After he was finished with Bean, Levi took care of Zoe's bedroom, being extremely careful and cautious about every little thing that was laying around. He threw the food away immediately and put the dirty underwear into a big plastic bag. He was sure she won't use them again, even though there were quite appealing sets.

“This will take long...”

***

When Levi got there, it was four o'clock in the evening. Now, it was six o'clock, and still no Zoe. She didn't call nor reply. Her dark haired guest started to feel a little bit worried and was keep holing his phone. Sawney and Bean were by his side as he was laying on the clean sofa. Sawney laying on his legs and Bean on the floor by his side.

It wasn't a fact of being terribly exhausted and hungry that made Levi wonder were Zoe was. It was the fact that he grew fond of her and that caused him to worry about her whereabouts, especially as she only wanted to buy food for the two of them. He tried not to think about anything negative. He was keep telling himself that her phone just died and she was just slacking. For three hours. Levi muttered some swears underneath his breath, concentrating on the loud breathing of the Mastiff.

“Fuck this.” He said as he sat up, carefully enough not to throw Sawney off his legs, and looked for cigarettes in the pockets of his pants, after finding none, he swore once more.

Suddenly, he heard how someone came in, which woke Sawney and Bean up, who immediately ran to the door and barked happily. How couldn't they be happy?

It was Zoe.

“Le~vi! I am so sorry it took so long! I met Mike, that super tall barista from Starbrooks and he told me about his and Nanaba's date so we kept on talking and talking an–“

“Why didn't you text me.” he walked up to her, even though he was shorter than her, she was the one feeling small right now.

“My phone died. Sorry, Cleanso.” she gave him a little grin and looked around. “Wow, if I didn't knew, I would never ever say this is my house! I hope it wasn't too much trouble.” She scratched her head, noticed how Levi is still fixating her sharply. She continued to talk“I bought us some noodles, sauce, and vegetables! Plus, a nice wine!”

Levi nodded in silence, after which he whispered “I was worried something has happened to you.”

“Don't be silly! What could have possibly happen to me? I'm almost invincible!”

“Don't fucking say that. You're not at all.” Levi hissed, looking away.

It didn't take long until she put the grocery bags down and wrapped her arms around him. She was expecting him to block, insult her or walk away, but instead he just stayed there and let her embrace him. The longer she had her arms around him, the more he relaxed and breathed calmly.

“Someone didn't have a nice dump this morning, huh.” Zoe whispered playfully, yet calmly. She could hear a muttered 'fuck you' coming from him.

“Shall we start to cook? It will be a bit faster than if only one person would do it.” She loosened her arms to look at him for an answer. He didn't say anything, just nodded and hesitated to move until she left to go to the kitchen.

“Levi, are you coming??”

“Yes, I am, not like some other people who prefer to slack around.”

Zoe laughed as Levi walked into the kitchen, and helped her preparing the dish.

 


	5. Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of wine and television is the perfect way to start a mood, for Levi and Zoe at least

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long! But here it is and it'll be more and more interesting uvu

Once they both finished their dinner, a nice dish with noodles, salty sauce and over-cooked vegetables, they both sat on her sofa and watched Sex and the City 2. It's not like they wanted to, but it was the only thing that was on right now that the both of them could stand. Both Zoe and Levi sipped their wine and commented on the movie whenever they could.

“Fucking woman. She has her dude wait for her back at NY and she's kissing her old love. Hold me, I'm going to puke.” the man surely wasn't a fan.

“Everyone would have big gooey-eyes when they saw their old love, especially protagonists of a half love, half friendship movies!” Zoe laughed and sipped her wine.

They were sitting next to each other, not touching, except for their legs, but nothing much. They enjoyed the company of one another even though Zoe talked more than Levi would like her to. Yet, a part of him liked that about her. It was annoying, sure, but it was just Zoe being _Zoe_. While looking at her while she talked about how she used to watch Sex and the City with her friend when she was younger, he didn't even realize he stopped listening, and just glanced at her features. Her long, fairly wide nose was nothing to oversee, but he noticed other features like her big smile, eyes shining in excitement when she was talking and even the way her eyebrows moved. He couldn't hide it, he loved it. He loved to look t her while she was talking. Maybe it was the wine that made it easier for Levi to admit it to himself, but she really grew on him, to a point of him wanting to be close to her. Once she finished talking, he put his arm on the back of the sofa, softly crawling her shoulder. It didn't seem to bother her, but she chuckled slightly, continuing to watch the movie.

Levi caught himself looking more often at Zoe than at the TV. He muttered a short 'fuck' under his breath and tried to focus on the screen. He could feel the alcohol from the wine already. His arm, which was resting on the back of the sofa, stopped crawling Zoe's shoulder and went up to her hair, playing with her loose hair and ponytail, noticing something not of his liking.

“Your hair is fucking greasy.”

“Yup. Yet, you play with it.”

“Do you have any idea how disgusting that is?”

“Apparently not disgusting enough for you not to touch it, is it.” She grinned at him and continued watching the TV. Levi had to smirk at that comment as well.

He(or the alcohol inside of him, as he liked to think)moved closer to her, putting his arm around her. She sank more into the sofa as a response, to be more at the height of his shoulder, than forehead. He looked down at her, thinking whether to give her so-disgusting-greasy hair a kiss or not. He decided not to but instead, bopped the tip of her nose, to which she looked up to him and smiled widely.

Levi couldn't hold back from her. This lead to him pressing his lips against hers. She seemed to be surprised at first, but returned the kiss lovingly and with a wide grin. He put his empty glass away carefully while she struggled with hers as she didn't want to break the kiss. Some of the wine was spilled on her legs and sofa, but she didn't care. Zoe just wanted him to kiss her and having her lips on his. He on the other hand cared a little more about such little things as spilled wine, so he took her wineglass and put it next to his, focusing completely on Zoe after that. He felt her arms around him, pulling him closer to her, which lead to her lying on the sofa and him being above her, kissing her and caressing her cheek.

They only things that they heard were the television, the sounds when their lips parted, their breath and their own heart pounding. Levi's usually narrowed eyebrows softened slightly when he looked at the smiling Zoe, to him, she just looked like a mindless idiot who smiled for no reason on every occasion. But he knew it was way different. She wasn't mindless nor an idiot... well, maybe sometimes, but not if it came to her intelligence.

While gazing at her, she once again pulled him closer. She wanted to kiss his forehead, cheeks, nose, lips... everything. Even though she was smiling, she was not chuckling or laughing at all. It was an unusual calm smile for the brunette. Levi enjoyed it. He could see her face in a calm but happy state without her mouth moving all the time. It was the first time he could look at the shape of Zoe's lips. She had a fairly wide mouth and thin lips. The lower lip visibly thinner than the upper one. He bit his own lip and kissed her again, passionately. He wanted nothing more than to feel her, taste her, hear her. Anything else didn't matter to him. His hand moved down from her cheek to her jawbone and then to her neck. She moved her head for him to have more space to touch her there.

He gently stroke her neck with his fingers, noticing a few moles which were normally hidden as her hair fell exactly this way. He kissed the spot where the little dots were and continued caressing her neck with his lips, kissing it occasionally. The woman crawled the back of his head, down to his neck, shifting her hand underneath his shirt to touch his bare, muscular shoulder. She ended up stroking from his shoulder back to his neck, playing with the collar of his shirt. While doing so, she felt Levi's lips kissing her from her neck, down to her collarbones, buttoning up the first few buttons of her shirt to have more space to kiss her. She loved the soft touch of his lips on her body. Zoe kissed his dark hair and moved up, making the both of them sit up. She then continued kissing him passionately, shifting her hand under his shirt and caressing his back gently. Levi started buttoning up her shirt open and glancing at her partly exposed upper body and touching it with the tips of his fingers, stopping for a short moment to take of his own shirt. He looked at Zoe, who was having reddish cheeks and left out a small chuckle.

“What is it...?” He asked her, playing with her hand.

She just shook her hand and mouthed a short “I'm just so happy” and continued kissing him, letting her fingers explore his muscular chest and stomach. He returned her kiss, caressing her back and slowly moving up to her shoulder blades and bra clasp.

***

On the next morning, Zoe woke up on her sofa. She was covered with a blanket. When she looked around, she could see no Levi and no dogs. The brunette got up and picked up her glasses from the ground. She stretched and looked back at the sofa. Just the sight of it made her grin.

Having her wide grin on, she made her way to the kitchen to get a drink, noticing a note on the table.

_''Shitty glasses,_

_Your dogs didn't let me piss in peace. I went outside with them so they can get their business done first. I made you coffee in case you wake up before I'm back._

_-Levi._

_PS.: I noticed we're fucking loud. ”_

Zoe let out a loud laughter after she read the note and shook her head. She immediately put it on a magnet on her refrigerator, got herself a cup of coffee and sat on the chair in her, for once, clean kitchen and waited for the three to return. She liked how last day ended and this day started.

 


	6. "What is the deal with us?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After weeks of intense kissing, Zoe is questioning what she and Levi really have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also known as: the day kat released a terrible chapter  
> enjoy ♥

A week past, Levi and Zoe continued to kiss, hug, being intimate and two love doves together, without ever mentioning it. They weren't talking about these things as well, it just... happened. For them, it was a natural thing for them to do (with each other) just like breathing, so they didn't question it. They felt it was right, so they continued doing it.

“... And now we are a couple. I still can't believe it.” Nanaba stirred her coffee and smiled.

“I'm so happy for you! Nanaba, that's so great.”

Both Nanaba and Zoe were sitting in their favorite spot in their favorite Cafe, Starbrooks, talking about what happened in the last weeks as they didn't got to talk much due to work.

“And... what is it between you and Levi? Aren't you two a couple yet?” the blonde woman asked.

“We didn't even talk about love, let alone a relationship, Banana.” Zoe laughed, but her own statement got her thinking. It was no big deal for her, they were behaving like a couple, yet the word relationship really got never said.

“Oh, I see.” Nanaba took a sip out of her drink and continued “It's nothing serious then, or is it?”

Was it? Was it not? Zoe didn't know what to answer. She just brushed it of saying it's less important and there don't have to be relationship as they don't change anything except being official statements. But all of these questions made her wonder. Was the thing between her and Levi serious or was it just being friends with benefits? As much as she liked Levi, she wouldn't want to be just friends with benefits. She knew she wouldn't stand it if Levi were meeting other women.

She knew, today, she had to ask him. It wasn't a question of if they are a couple, but rather if the thing they have is serious or not.

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Hange  
To: Levi**

can we meet in a bit I want to ask u something very important   
\-----------------------------------------

It did take him quite a while to answer, but he did at last.

\-----------------------------------------  
 **From: Levi  
To: Hange**

Yea, sure.  
\-----------------------------------------

The answer was shorter than usual. He didn't even seem interested. But maybe it was just Zoe imagining things.

She looked at her friend and smiled. “We'll settle this today, but for now, tell me more about you and Mike...”

***

After she got the most important information about Nanaba and Mike out of her blonde friend, she felt satisfied and happy that her best friend was in good hands. She was waiting for Levi and played around with her phone. She looked around and around but she couldn't stop Levi at all.

But being late didn't bother Zoe much, even though it would be unusual for Levi to appear late, she knew there could always come something up. She fixed her ponytail a bit and looked into a direction, from which a rather short, black haired man came, and headed towards her. The sight of Levi was like a switch for her wide grin. She turned to him and was already eager to talk to him about the most different things, and most important, one specific topic.

“What is it?” he said, not letting her even greet him properly.

“Well... Hello, Levi!”

“Hey.” That was cold. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Jeez, what's up with you today? You sound so constipated.” The brunette wanted to lighten the mood since Levi was more grumpy than usual.

“Don't fuck around and just tell me what's up.” He hissed. Zoe could notice him frowning more intense and just having a careless and annoyed attitude.

“I... I'm not sure if I should ask you about it right now, you seem pissed and would probably get even more pissy if I continued.”

“I don't have time today, Zoe, just fucking speak and let me go.”

 _'Zoe'._ He never called her by her name. The glassed woman wondered what could have been up, but decided to just go on and say what she wanted to say in the first place.

“I just wanted to ask you if the thing between you and me is serious.”

“The thing between you and me...?” He repeated her words. The black haired man seemed surprised by them.

“I mean, us being together. Is it serious or just a one – few night stand, friends with benefits and so on?” Zoe didn't want any of the non-serious answers to be true so she just kept on smiling and examining him with her big, brown eyes.

“Oh.” Was the only thing he had to say.

“What do you mean by 'oh'?” Her heart pounded, she wasn't sure what to feel or think.

“By 'oh' I mean I didn't think you would ask me something like that.” He didn't seem happy while saying this. Zoe was starting to regret ever asking. But she didn't let it being readable from her face. She still looked at him with her curious eyes and a smile.

He took a deep breath and went through his hair with his hand. “It's not serious.”

The woman felt her heart stopping for beat. “I'm sorry...?”

“It was just an adventure, I am not into serious things. I thought you aren't either.” He didn't look at her, just looked around, probably waiting for a slap or her going away.

But she didn't do either. She still shined on the outside, having her wide grin on, she just said a simple 'Oh.' Like him and chuckled. She could notice him looking quite concerned at her.

“Look, I'm sorr–“

“Aw, Levi, it's okay, you don't have to apologize for something like this!” She patted his head. And whispered a weak 'it's okay'.

But both her and Levi knew it was not okay. She was good at faking a smile and being happy. A lot of people even fell for it, but Levi was someone who was great at reading faces. And after reading her face while being _honestly_ happy, he could spot the difference with ease. He felt how his chest began to ache with the sight of her, but he tried to ignore it.

“Let's just... stop contacting each other. It's for the best.”

“Yup! I second that!” Another lie. “Well, now that we are going to be parted people, Levi! I wish you the best of luck in your future! I hope you are always going to be well.”

He nodded and they said a goodbye. Once Levi was out of Zoe's sight, the corners of her mouth sank. It was like the pain she held from 10 minutes ago just hit her again, just much stronger. She felt tears coming from her eyes, but she didn't rub them off. She still couldn't believe that Levi, who was very important to her, left her just like that. She wanted to ignore it and walk home, and she managed to hold her tears back.

Just the moment she went into her house and closed the door, she leaned with her back against them and slid down, sitting right in front of the door. She cried and couldn't stop. Her dogs greeted her, but after spotting that their owner is in pain, both Sawney and Bean laid beside her and licked her hands and cheeks. Zoe looked at her dogs' trying to lift her mood and had to smile immediately, even though she still was losing tears and feeling deep pain in her chest.

They weren't the best to talk to, but they were the best to make Zoe feel at least a bit better.

 

 


	7. Moving on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We almost did it, yasss  
> potential feels and cornyness  
> you have been warned :>  
> enjoy♥

Levi was sitting in his car, leaning back and inhaling the smoke of his cigarette. He was thinking about what he said to Zoe and, especially, the way she was looking at him while he spoke. Sure, she was smiling and turning it into something funny, but he knew for her, being shot in the face would hurt less than what he said.

He was tracing the smoke with his gray eyes, sighing.

The black haired man was sitting in his car for two hours now. He know it wasn't right how he treated her, but he didn't knew how to put er off differently. He wanted her not to be sad but angry at him, but that didn't seem to work.

“Fuck...” he muttered.

After finishing his cigarette, he started his dark green car and started driving.

He had his window wide open, feeling the wind on his face. He wanted to think about anything but Zoe. Listening to “Parachute” by Ingrid Michaelson, mouthing the words along to the song but changing the channel right when she sings _“It's you and me up against the world”._ Another radio station didn't played any music as for now. Only some people talking about why today's date, the 6th of October, was significant to them. The date made Levi furrow his brows, making him turn the radio off after hearing them repeating “the sixth of October” three times. He took a deep breath and decided to visit his friend, hoping to get a chance to talk to him about what happened.

***

It took him 20 minutes to get to his blond friend. Levi immediately rang his door bell. Hoping that he was home and not out somewhere.

Thankfully, he opened the door.

“Oh? Levi? I wasn't expecting you at all today.” Erwin said as he looked at his short friend.

“Erwin, I need to talk to you. Can I come in, _please_?” the way Levi spoke was rough, yet almost desperate.

Erwin nodded and let his friend in. He offered him coffee and sat with him in the kitchen. It was plain (and boring), just the way Erwin liked it.

Once Erwin gave Levi his coffee and sat next to him, he noticed Levi not touching his coffee, but just looking at it. Probably looking for words how to start a conversation.

“How many years has it been since?” The tall man started.

Levi looked up, slightly confused as he had his thoughts on something completely different. “...what?”

“The accident. It's been three years since, right?”

The shorter man's eyes widened, but he quickly looked away from Erwin, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, after which he simply nodded. When he opened them again, he looked at his hands. “It was–“

“I already told you, it was not your fault, Levi.”

“I should have been there, I shouldn't have taken that shift three years ago, for fuck's sake.”

“You couldn't predict what would happen. It wasn't something you had any influence on.”

Levi clenched his fists and took a deep breath. “I could have taken her fucking place, I wouldn't have been the one to see her laying there on that God forsaken bed, smiling at me like she was happy about being about to go... You don't understand it, Erwin. You have never witnessed someone close to you dying while holding your hand. “ Levi glanced at Erwin with fierce and hurt eyes.

It got silent between the two men.

“No I haven't.” Erwin began “But I know Petra would want you to move on. She wanted you to remember her smiling instead of in pain.”

Levi didn't say a word. He just looked away.

“I thought you met someone who– “

“I told her I don't mean it. I basically destroyed what she and I had.”

The blonde man looked surprised at his friend, but listening carefully to what he had to say.

“I... urgh... I like her, okay? I do. Really. But if something were to happen to her I... don't know if I could go through this again. Especially since that damn idiot would laugh at me if I were to shed a tear, saying something ridiculous like 'Oh you silly Cleanso, I don't want your sad face to be the last thing I see in life.'...”

“When you go by that attitude, you will only hurt yourself and others.”

“Fuck you.” Levi knew Erwin was right. He should move on and stop thinking about the past. But a little part of him didn't want to do that. He felt like it would be insulting towards Petra.

“You should apologize and explain everything to that woman of yours.”

“She's not my _woman_ , Erwin.” He said as he stood up. “Thanks. I'll be leaving now.” The moment he said it, he was already gone. Erwin didn't even got the chance to say a word. He just shook his head hoping, his friend isn't going to do anything stupid.

***

“I'm sorry to bother you again.”

Levi's hands were in the pockets of his gray pants, playing with the lighter and cigarettes he had in them. He had no intention to smoke now, but he was sort of nervous. He sat down on the grass, he didn't care at the moment about the stains his pants might have, he will wash it out. Next to him was a stone monument.

It had 'Petra Ral' written on it.

He glanced upon the grave, completely covered in flowers. The corners of his lips rose a little bit.

“I guess you would slap me if you could, after what I did.” Levi murmured. He was recalling the moment he saw her breath for the last time, and what she said to him while still having a smile on her face.

_Levi... promise me you won't forget me._

_But... also, move on with your life. I don't want you to stop enjoying things..._

Levi sighed as he remembered the exact words his ex-fiancee said to him. She wanted him to be happy, even without her. To move on. He clenched his fists and got up. Taking a few deep breaths before muttering again.

“I'm going to try to explain everything to Zoe. I can't make it worse than it already is.”

With these words, he walked off, only giving a quick glance towards the grave he was sitting next to, smiling slightly and mouthing a soft “Thank you”, after which he got into his car. He had to fix what he has broken and he didn't want to lose any time.

 

 


	8. Clarity

Zoe calmed down from today's unpleasant surprise. Her dogs, Bean and Sawney, we're helping her with it, licking the salty tears of her face and cuddling with her.

Now, a bit recovered from the sadness, she was sitting on the sofa, with Sawney in her lap and Bean laying on her feet. She was thinking about what should happen now and if she wants to still maintain contact to Levi. She did really like him, but after today's event, she wasn't sure if she can keep her infamous idiotic grin all the time while with him.

Zoe sighed, undid her ponytail and took her glasses off, after which she leaned back and took a few deep breaths, thinking with a more clear mind about everything.

***

Levi visited Zoe often enough, he could technically drive to her home with his eyes closed (what he didn't do for obvious reasons). While slightly looking around he knew he was going to be at Zoe's soon. The bakery, the cinema... If someone asked him to draw a map to Zoe's house, he would include these. The simple bakery next to the, as Levi said, big ass shiny cinema really stood out and just looked awful.

And there he already saw it. A few kilometers away. Zoe's house.

The black haired man parked as soon as he found a spot and walked the way to her house on his own feet, almost running towards the door and immediately knocking on it.

“Zoe, it's me, please open the door, we have to talk.” He said sharply.

Zoe's dogs wanted to go to the door and start belling as soon as they heard the man, but seeing their owner ordering them without a word to stay on the sofa, they did so. They were wild but they knew when they can be loose around Zoe, and when to behave.

Zoe herself got out of her living room and looked at the door. She sat by the door frame and asked herself if she wants to talk yet or not. She could always act like she is on the toilet or out of the house, just in case he would ask.

The knocking continued. “What I said today, I didn't mean it, please let me explain.” He still spoke with a sharp voice, yet somehow desperate as well.

Zoe slowly crawled towards the door on all fours, trying to be as quiet as she could. Her curiosity was as always bigger than her pride. Even though he hurt her, she couldn't hate him.

“Zoe, everything I said was bullshit, I swear just let me in and I will explain everything to you.”

She heard him curse as she sat right next to the door, looking at the doorknob and thinking about hearing him out. She took a deep breath and stood up, opening the door with curious eyes and a big smile.

He looked up at her, looking slightly relieved.

“Jeez, you're super stubborn.” She said, letting him in.

As soon as he was in and Zoe closed the door, they could already hear dog paws on the floor, running towards them, and especially Levi, and jumping at him and wiggling their tails.

“Zoe I–“

“Would you like tea? I don't think talking here is comfortable.” She cut him off, smiling at him and walking into the kitchen.

Looking after her, he greeted the dogs so they'd calm down, and followed Zoe into the kitchen. He sat down and looked at her, noticing how her smile wasn't on her face when she wasn't looking at him, but looked more concerned.

“Zoe, I'm sorry for what I said.” He started carefully. “I was... just afraid for us to become something serious.”

No answer from her came, she was just listening and boiling water.

“You see I... I was engaged once, and...” He took a deep breath and went through his bangs. “My fiancee died in an accident. It's been three years since, and I already accepted that she's gone, but... I don't want to live through what I had to in the first year If something were to happen to you.” It was difficult for him to tell this to her. It made him think back.

She poured the tea into the cups, playing with the teabags in them.

“I know it's cowardly but–“

“Levi, you're doing nothing else but keeping people from you, which is kind of stupid.” Zoe turned around and looked at him. “You can't run away from stuff like death, you have to accept it and instead of remembering the bad times death brought you, you should remember the nice things you had _before_ death happened, don't you think, silly?” she finally gave him a slight, honest smile.

People were always telling Levi this. To go on and be happy about the memories he had, but he was always ignoring it because he found it naïve and stupid. But giving it more thought, and hearing it from Zoe, made him actually think about it. Every time he was recalling moments with Petra, it was her being on her deathbed, instead of the nice times.

Zoe put the cups on the table and sat in front of him, putting as usual a lot of sugar into her beverage, while leaving Levi's pure, just like he liked it.

“I never had someone close to me die, so I can't say if it's easy or not... but you said your fiancee has died three years ago and you're still kind of holding onto it. It's just like with aggressive dogs. Instead of fearing them, you should show them that you aren't afraid and that you take any risk of potential disappointment to be happy.”

“That was the dumbest metaphor I've heard about death.” Levi said, taking a careful sip out of his cup.

“Ah, sorry, I just wanted to make it easy for you to understand what I mean.” Zoe chuckled and drank her tea as well, enjoying the over-sweetened taste.

“Zoe... I... would like to have a...” Levi paused and swallowed. “ _A serious thing_ with you.”

The woman looked up at him, smiling and opening her mouth to say something, but got quickly interrupted by the short man.

“But if you don't want to anymore then I'm cool with it. I guess.” a big sip followed his statement.

This just made Zoe laugh and sigh with relief. She nodded and began

“Levi, let's be a serious thing. So you can see my poop-ish hair everyday... or just whenever you feel like it!”

Levi smiled at her, took her hand and caressed it with his thumb.

***

“Hello!”

“Shitty-glasses, don't be so obnoxiously loud.”

“Hah, sorry, grumpy.”

It's been 5 months since Levi and Zoe have been going out. The little man has still been a bit overcautious, but nothing bad has happened. They still live separately, but start slowly talking about moving in together in the future. They spend nearly everyday together, having sometimes a week with little to no contact, though, which is followed by a week where one of them practically lives at the other one's house.

But no matter what, every month, there is this one day, on which the two of them go to the graveyard, to visit Levi's former fiancee's grave.

“Levi has shown me some pictures of you recently! And I must say, you truly were a beauty, no wonder that grump set his eyes on you.” The brunette said, laying flowers onto the grave carefully.

She isn't one bit jealous, she understands what's up and even wants to hear Levi talk about his fiancee once in a while.

“I've been taking very good care of him for you, so you don't have to worry about him, Petra.”

Levi looked at the grave and then at Zoe and couldn't help but smile. He also put flowers on Petra's grave and talked to her.

When he was done, he felt Zoe's hand on his shoulder, she smiled at him and held her phone in the other hand.

“Banana and Mike are in Starbrooks right now, should we meet them there?”

Levi smiled and nodded, reaching out for Zoe's hand to hold. The two of them said goodbye to Petra, and promised to be back next month. After that, they went off to Starbrooks.

On that day, the sun shined brighter than ever.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the kind of cheesy ending, but HERE WE ARE AND IT'S FINALLY DONE AFTER MORE THAN A HALF YEAR♥  
> thank you so much for reading and following the story♥  
> *cuddles*


End file.
